Two big improvements over the Zip now available. Wood gas stoves burn cleaner, steadier and longer than the Zip. The second one is really cheap, light, no batteries, motor or fan. Pack your lunch in it and cook in your cup. Plenty of fuel for these above treeline including your accumulated paper and plastic trash or previous night's charcoal.

To each . . .Rain, shmain. I'll take a little reliance on wilderness craft over two pounds of metal and gasoline. Advantages include weight, space, and absolute dead simple mechanical reliability. Silence. Renewable free fuel. Hot lunch. The simplest one I have is the size of a quart paint can and weighs 8 or 9 ounces. Since it runs on gasification principle, fuel burns in two stages: the wood (or pine needles, pine cones twigs, duff etc) gasifies and burns to charcoal, then the charcoal burns. Put it out after stage 1 and keep the char to get you through that shower or next cold camp, or find plenty of dry stuff under the top layers of duff. Or enjoy a mini camp flame* and make enough char for the next day or two or three. Carrying it with a full charge of fuel adds only a few ounces, less than that 22oz Sigg bottle empty.

*Its a stove, so I don't consider it a "fire" for purposes of wilderness regulations.

I'm dying to see a picture of you without your helmet and glasses. Not that this has anything to do with lunch on the trail - I've been known to hijack threads, I don't mean to, it just happens. Are you by chance a miner or a hot rod racer?

Favorite lunch: tuna in the pouch, mustard packets from mcdonalds, pita bread from trader joes. Light, flat, not dry, and the tuna pouch is an excellent "trash bag" for mustard packets and any other trash.

Fancy dijon mustard is also a good variation as is salmon and some of the pre seasoned fish in a pouch.

Might be too simple for most on these boards, but I find it really great for spur of the moment hikes. Plus I can eat it almost every day just by changing the condiment.

(Hate mayo so my bias is always towards mustard)

Cheers!

_m

*just a friendly southern cali girl with a monkey on her back where ever life takes her*